In the modern world the vast majority of clothing is made from woven fabrics, and the art of weaving is many centuries old. Indeed the invention of weaving is generally attributed to the Ancient Egyptians. Yarns were produced from natural cotton, wool, or linen fibers, and garments made from fabrics woven from these yarns often creased badly in wear and, when washed, required considerable time and effort with a pressing iron to restore them to a pristine appearance.
With the increasing standard of living, there has been a general demand for a release from the labor involved in home laundering. At the same time the increased cost of labor has raised the expense of commercial laundering considerably. This has resulted in additional pressure being brought to bear on textile technologists to produce fabrics and garments that can be laundered in domestic washing equipment, are then ready to wear, and will keep a good appearance during wear.
Within the last half century, textile manufacturers have implemented two major improvements in wash-and-wear garments: (1) the use of crosslinking resins on cotton containing garments, and (2) the use of synthetics and synthetic blends. Although these two implementations have made major strides in reducing the wrinkling of a garment, consumers are still dissatisfied with the results and feel a need to iron after a laundry operation.